Friday, November 9, 2012

This is perhaps the
least interesting of the four stories but it carries most useful lessons. About
four decades back he graduated from Lok Bharti. It was a very renowned
institute back then, esp for rural studies. Sort of a larger and more grounded
version of IRMA [I met some of his professors and got a whiff of an inspired
place that Lok Bharti would have been]. He was a very bright student and got
couple of job offers on graduation but he had different ideas. He wanted
to do farming.

Many thought, it was
crazy enough to reject decent job offers but why take up farming in the water
scarce region of Kutch. His logic was simple, Kutch is where I belong. Over the
years, he developed the farm and raised a family.

He never built a
bank balance but life was fine. He could educate his 3 children well and lived
a decent life. More importantly he along with his elder brother earned lot of
respect in the community for their contribution to the development of the region.
He furthered the work of his father in the area of education for the poor and rural
development.

Now in his mid sixties, he still works on the
farm, runs the social development initiatives, and lives a simple peaceful life.
I have never seen him worrying; he hardly ever gets agitated, is still a
curious reader, and can go to sleep in a trice.

He has never had any major episode of illness
and at this age also does not suffer from any of the common chronic conditions
like high BP, diabetes, arthritis etc. Fit enough to do tough physical work and
wise enough to find time to work for others. He is Dinesh Sanghvi, my father-in-law.

Most would attribute his good health to farm
fresh food and active lifestyle. But these are obvious. Most of us give
importance to what is physical. We think diet and exercise are two most
important things for staying healthy. This is what all the neo-medical experts promulgate.
Even when we talk about Yoga, it is just about asanas and pranayam because
these are two physical aspects of Yoga.

But there are other more important pre-requisites
of good health. There are at least two that I want to mention.

a)One’s ability to
accept the situation as it is and control ones reaction to it rather than
trying to control the external factors causing it.

b)Live a life which is
not very self-centered. Life that has space not only for other people but also
other life forms.

Unfortunately few doctors understand the above
and even fewer are equipped to incorporate this in their treatment methodology.
So most doctors do what is economically viable today. Treat the symptoms of
diseases.

I hope it’ll change someday and healthcare
would become what it is suppose to be - knowledge of taking care of health
rather than just treating diseases.

To know if we can help you in your medical
condition, you can call us on +91-2837-292062 / 286882 or write to us at info@swashealthcare.com